Shifting Nature
by Bella Rae
Summary: I always thought I was a normal girl... Until my eighteenth birthday came and changed everything......... "We call ourselves vultus amoveo... shape shifters... And Kagome... you’re one of us..."
1. Chapter 1 The Prophecy

Preface – The Prophecy 

_**Daughter of extinguished royalty**_

_**Raised by a pack of wolves in sheep's clothing**_

_**Our savior awaits our aid**_

_**Half human, half one of us**_

_**Yet the only one with the power **_

_**To give us the salvation we seek**_

_**More naïve than a child**_

_**Yet wiser than an immortal**_

_**Weaker than a newborn babe**_

_**But stronger than us all combined**_

_**Raised by a pack of disguised wolves**_

_**Half human, half one of us,**_

_**Our savior patiently awaits our aid…**_

_**We are all damned if she dies…**_

A/N: What do you think? Kick it or keep it?


	2. Chapter 2 Kagome Higurashi

Chapter 1 – Kagome Higurashi 

"Come on mom!" I cried out, laughing, "Enough pictures already, we're going to be late!"

"Alright, alright." She said, putting her camera away. "I just wanted some pictures and since you're not taking any…" She left the sentence hanging but I understood, so I nodded.

"I know mom." I said, lifting the hem of my dress and going to kiss her cheek. "But if we don't leave now, we're really going to be late."

"Go on Gome. You and Yash have fun." My dad said, throwing his arm over Mom's shoulders and smiling at me. "We'll see you tomorrow."

I looked up at Inuyasha's lanky six foot frame and smiled. "We will." Inu smiled back, his brown eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Sesshoumaru doesn't mind that you and Yash are going to your winter ball together? They are brothers after all, twins in fact and last I heard Sess was crazy for you…" My brother Souta said.

"I wouldn't know." I lied. "I haven't spoken to Sess in months…"

After that, Inu led me out the door and to his car, the only sound the click of my black three inch heels.

"Thanks for this Yash." I said as soon as we were in the car.

"No problem. I was in the neighborhood." He said turning to smirk at me mischievously before starting the car and driving off.

I rolled my eyes and started pulling down the black spaghetti strapped dress, revealing the long red tube top and black leggings underneath.

Inuyasha hit the freeway going north towards Sacramento. We were meeting Sesshoumaru just outside of Tracy and then he was going back to Sac.

"Hey Baby." I said as soon as I got out of the car. I gathered the dress and threw it in Sess's car before throwing my arms around his neck. A sigh of complete contentment escaped my lips as Sesshou's arms constricted around my waist.

"You two have fun." Yash said before driving off.

I put my face against Sess's chest, inhaling his unique smell. It's indescribable, no cologne comes close. To put it lightly, Sesshoumaru smells good.

"We need to find a way to do this more often," I said. "I've missed you."

"I missed you too." He muttered, leaning further into me and burying his face in the crook of my neck.

We just stood there for a while, reveling in just being together. Sess spoke first, "You ready to go?"

I nodded, taking a step back. He followed me, holding his arms around my waist, and kissed me firmly on the lips. Then he released me and stepped back.

"Let's go then." He said, smiling as he opened the passenger door for me.

Long story short, Sesshoumaru is my high school sweetheart. I met him in seventh grade, five years ago. Sess was my best friend, Kikyo's boyfriend, Yasha's, best friend. Kikyo and Inuyasha went out all through my seventh and eighth grade, but broke up the summer before my freshmen year. Kikyo's a year older than me. She used to bring me along just like Inu used to bring him. Secretly, I think they were trying to hook us up. Well, it worked, just not as soon as I'm sure they wanted.

Sess and I started off as friends. When Kikyo said her boyfriend was bringing his friend, I thought he'd be ugly and she and Yasha were expecting me to play charity case. But actually, Sess was cuter than Yasha. He still is in my opinion, with his long black hair and piercing gold eyes that put my own dark brown ones to shame. Yash just couldn't compare… even though he was cute too in his own way. Yasha had blonde hair too and amber eyes that popped. The two were loved by all the girls at their school… There was even a Sesshoumaru and an Inuyasha Taisho fan-club at the school. Enter creeped out shudder here because that is pretty weird. At first I'd wondered why Sess didn't have a girlfriend, but after he told me about the time six of his 'fan-girls' chased him up a tree trying to get a glimpse of his six-pack, I completely understood.

We basically spent every weekend together, going to the mall, the movies, and wherever else the lovebirds felt like going. And it's not like they stayed with us when we went. Since Sess, Kikyo and Inuyasha all had cell phones, Kikyo would call Sesshoumaru when they were ready to leave and we'd meet them at the front and catch the bus together.

Sesshou was never immature like the other boys I knew. He was into poetry and politics and music and football. But he was also a bit of a trouble-maker back then. More specifically, he was a tagger, an artist. I loved it. We didn't start dating until my freshmen year, his junior year, in high school. My parents didn't approve so we acted like we broke up and just dated on the down low.

Things were going great until the summer after my sophomore year. Sesshou and Yasha both moved out of San Jose to Sacramento to go to Sacramento State University. It was great for them and I was proud of Sesshoumaru for going, but after five years of being together at every available moment, being away from him so much was hard. He was my first everything. My first boyfriend, my first kiss, my first love, my _first_… It was just hard to miss him so much. It made my heart hurt.

"So how's your senior year going?" Sess asked, bringing me from my memories.

"Fine. I can't wait until it's over though. Six more months, ugh!"

Sesshoumaru laughed. "That's not too long. Why haven't you started moving your stuff out? Or told your parents about us…? In three weeks you'll be eighteen and what they say won't matter. Legally anyways."

"I don't want the argument yet. The last thing I need right now is for them to kick me out before I graduate. I'd end up having to switch schools or be homeless… Six months of secrecy won't kill us."

"You're going to have to stand up to them eventually Kagome."

"I know, but eventually is not today." Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes but kept silent. The silence was nothing new to me. Sess was more the quiet type. He didn't really talk to people. Yasha was amazed that he speaks to me so much. He always prefers to show what he means or what he thinks or feels rather than say it. I was bothered by it at first, thinking that if he felt anything serious for me he'd tell me. But I eventually got over my own insecurities and came to appreciate when he spoke or showed his feelings because the scarceness made it all the more special.

We pulled up to a nice hotel a few minutes later and before I could finish gathering the dress I'd been wearing, Sess had opened the passenger door for me. I climbed out, smiling up at him, and took his hand as he led me up to our room.

"So, what do you want to do?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"There's actually a movie that I want to see."

I told him the name of the movie and he scoffed at me, "I heard that movie was stupid. But if you want to see it, I guess we can order it…"

I reached up to kiss his cheek and smiled.

"Thanks babe."

We did end up ordering the movie and it was stupid. It was supposed to be scary and I laughed all throughout the movie.

I never would've guessed that my world would be turned upside down… my life had become so routine that I thought nothing could disrupt it… I was wrong.

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A/N: Title ideas...?

Whoever's title i use gets the next chap a full week before i upload it... it's already typed so...


	3. Chapter 3 The Beginning

Chapter 2 – The Beginning 

It all started with a call from Jason the day before my birthday.

"Yeah." I answered the phone. It was five in the evening and I was putting the finishing touches on the spaghetti I was making for dinner. Mom and Dad were still at work so dinner fell onto me.

"Kagome." Sesshoumaru started, "Come to the park by your house."

"Why?" I asked, starting to serve my brothers.

"Just come, please?" It sounded urgent; Sesshou's voice was ringing with what sounded like desperation.

"Alright. Five minutes." I said.

"Ok." I hung up.

"I'm taking Savage for a walk." I said referring to the German Sheppard puppy that'd followed me home a few days prior. He's adorable; all black and still small with bright green eyes. He followed me everywhere.

"Alright." My brother Souta said.

I latched Sav to his leash and was pulling my shoes on at the door when Souta asked,

"Aren't you going to eat first?"

"No." I called over my shoulder, opening the door. "Sav's been restless, I'll eat after."

With that, I left the house.

"What's so urgent?" I asked Sess with a hug as soon as I got close enough to him. We were at the playground at the park.

"It's really nothing." He said, running his hands on my neck. "I just wanted to see you."

I rolled my eyes and noticed Sav sniffing at Sesshou's ankles out of the corner of my eyes. I started walking, smiling as he followed behind me slowly.

"You're weird, you know that?" I asked rhetorically, grinning back at him.

He answered anyways, "Yeah, I've figured that out," He muttered with a smile. "Do me a favor tonight Kagome…?"

"Sure, anything."

"Don't go to sleep early. I'm going to call you at eleven thirty."

I looked at him strangely, dumbfounded at his strange request.

"Just trust me on this." He said. "You do trust me, don't you?"

I nodded. "Yeah, alright. I'll stay up."

Sess leaned in and kissed my forehead. "Thank you." He whispered against my skin.

I nodded. "I have to get back now. I'll talk to you tonight, ok?"

"Yeah." He said. "Alright."

My parents were acting weird when they got home that night. They didn't touch dinner, complained about being tired for hours, and wouldn't look me in my eyes. To say I was confused would be the greatest understatement of the century.

"You're getting your birthday present tomorrow." My dad called to me over his shoulder at nine when he and my mom went to their room to lie down.

"Oh…kay…" I muttered to myself as their door slammed upstairs.

I cleaned the kitchen in record time and took Savage upstairs where he laid in his makeshift bed, which was really nothing more than a small, puffy blanket and a pillow right next to my bed, which was directly under the window. He had to stay in my room because he didn't like anyone else in the house, but I'd be damned if I got rid of him because of that. Savage was like my baby; I loved him to death and cared for him. I got on my computer, which was right next to my closet which was behind my door, and got on the internet.

My phone rang promptly at eleven thirty. I was surprised to say the least. Sess almost never calls me on time.

"Hey babe." I said, answering the phone.

"You trust me, right…?" He asked. I knew something was up because he'd asked me that twice already and that's the first thing he said to me. I stayed quiet, turned my radio on, turned it towards the door, and sat behind it.

"Why do you keep asking me that?" I demanded.

"I'll tell you later if you answer."

"Of course I trust you." I said. "I trust you with my life."

"Good." He sighed in relief. "Do you remember when you said you'd run away with me if I asked you to…?"

I did remember. It was a few years ago, after Sess had moved to Sacramento. I was in English class and he'd texted me towards the end of class. "I miss you," He'd said to me. I wrote back saying the same and couldn't help smiling, thinking of the next time I'd see him. "The two of us should run away together." He'd texted back. I grinned wider, and wrote back, "All you have to do is ask." I never thought he was serious though…

"Yeah, I remember." I said into the phone, smiling at the memory. Sesshou and I had been together for a long time.

"Well," Sess said, "I'm asking."

"Wait, what?" I asked in a whisper, the smile wiped clean off my face. He _couldn't_ be asking… not really… this_ had_ tobe some kind of sick joke of his.

"Run away with me…?" He asked, "Only, it won't be just me and you like we'd planned before…"

"Who else?" I asked, trying to calm myself down so that I could think straight. So here's what I got so far: basically, Sesshoumaru wants to run away with me and some other people to who knows where for who knows what reason. I don't even know what to think! Do I go or do I stay? I want to go because I want to be with Sess, but it wouldn't be fair to my parents. And I want to stay to finish school but if he's not there to look forward to once I graduate then what's the point of finishing?

"Kikyo and Yasha are coming too."

"Why?" I asked.

"I'll tell you on the way."

"Where?" I asked, trying to gather as much information as possible before I decided whether to stay or go.

"Dammit Kagome are you coming or not? Do you trust me… or not?" Sess exclaimed. The two questions seemed to be one and the same… they probably were. What surprised me was Sesshou's outburst. He almost never got frustrated, least of all with me. After stressing so hard on the question at first, I answered on a whim.

"I'm coming. When are we leaving?"

"Now." Sess said. "Pack a bag and toss it out to Kikyo. She's climbing your fence as we speak."

"And how am I supposed to get out?" I asked.

"Me." Jason said before hanging up. I was completely bewildered for a moment. But then came the tapping at my window.

Savage started growling and I dove at him from my computer chair across the room and clamped his mouth shut.

"Shhh. It's alright Sav." Lifting him up in one arm, I went and opened the window to see Sesshou hanging right outside.

"How'd you get up here?" I asked.

"Later." He said. "Whose dog?"

"Mine. He's coming."

"Whatever. Go pack, we've really got to go."

"Yeah, yeah." I said, handing him Savage, grabbing my cheer duffle bag from under my bed and went to my closet.

A few minutes later, Sess was at my side, pulling clothes out at random. "We don't have time for this." He muttered. I let him do that and snuck out of the room to my bathroom, taking my curling iron, my flat iron, my brush, toothbrush, all my other hair stuff, and a small mirror, putting it all into a small, separate bag.

Once the clothing bag was full, he tossed both bags out of the window, shoved Savage back into my arms, and pulled me close to him.

"Hold onto me and close your eyes."

Tucking Sav into my jacket, I wrapped both arms and legs around Sess, clinging to him, and buried my face in his neck.

"Don't let go." He whispered. And then we were moving.

I felt him climb onto my bed to get to my window, felt the windowsill as we climbed over it, heard the window close quietly, and then Sesshoumaru's arms and legs were moving up and down at a fast pace before stretching out, arms up, and dropping, touching the ground lightly.

"You can let go now." Sess muttered, holding my waist as I unwrapped my legs first, and then my arms, wrapping those around Savage, who curled into my arms, a low whine erupting from his muzzle. Sess signaled to me to follow him before turning and heading over to my fence. I followed silently, holding Sav's muzzle shut just in case he got the urge to bark for any reason. Sesshoumaru climbed up the fence, balanced for a moment and then held out his arms, pointing at Savage once and then at himself, signaling that he wanted me to give him Savage. Lifting the dog from my jacket, I handed him to Sesshoumaru, who tucked him under one arm and used the other to lift himself all the way over the fence. I heard the quiet 'thud' as his feet touched the floor lightly. I sighed in relief when Savage didn't bark at being separated from me.

Gripping the top of the fence, I pulled myself up, kicking off of the side of the fence and launched my legs over, landing in a crouch on the other side, my hands held out to steady myself.

"Come on." Sesshou muttered, grabbing one of my hands and running through the shadows towards a running car parked at the corner of my street.

Sess wrenched the backseat door open as soon as we were close enough, and practically pushed me into the car before climbing in after me and shoving Savage in my lap.

"Drive." He commanded. Inuyasha, who I just noticed was in the drivers' seat, put the car in gear and sped off, headed south, towards the freeway, headed God knows where. I leaned my head on Sesshoumaru's shoulder, fatigue finally getting to me, and looked at the clock, checking the time.

It was eleven forty.

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A/N: ok so i'm not sure if i should keep this story up...

it seems like nobody's reading it and i dont want to waste my time..............

**Review Replies:**

Kattana: Well the excuse is that he's a tagger... for parents, looks mean nothing. lol their weirdos like that.


	4. Chapter 4 Truth

Chapter 4 – Truth 

Ten minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot of a hotel. Kikyo and Yasha got out as soon as the car was stopped, Kikyo headed towards the back of the car, and Inu to the inside of the hotel, most likely to get us a room. Why we were stopping to get a hotelroom in San Jose when we were trying to get away from everything was beyond me. Maybe nobody felt like driving… or maybe they were just tired… who knows.

"Ten minutes…" I half heard Sess mutter to himself.

"Until what?" I asked groggily, trying to focus on staying awake, a feat that was extremely difficult for me.

"Your birthday." Sesshou said, pulling me into his lap, opening the door and getting out, taking me with him. I had a feeling that's not what Sess was counting down to, but discarded it and curled into him, holding Savage close, trying to hide him. Sess headed inside and walked up to Inu.

"What room is it?" He asked, holding one hand out for the key.

"707." Yasha replied, placing the room key in Sesshou's hand. Sess nodded, turned on his heel and headed towards the elevator.

"You can put me down." I muttered as he pushed the button to call the elevator.

"I don't want to." Sess said, pushing for floor 7 as he carried me inside.

"Why are we here?" I asked as the elevator started to ascend.

"You'll see." He said, not looking at me. "Five minutes." He muttered so low that I doubt I was supposed to hear it. Once we got to the seventh floor, the elevator doors opened and we headed towards ours, when Sess handed me the key and I let us in.

A few minutes later, Yasha and Kikyo got to the room. Kiki put my bag in the corner of the room and went to sit down before Yash grabbed her arm.

"We have ninety seconds Kik, put the crystals in place." He then pulled eight colored crystals out of his pocket, one red, one navy blue, one brown, one baby blue, one black, one yellow, one clear and one silver. He handed four to Kikyo and started placing them along the walls of the room we were in. Kiki did the same, but with the clear one, she placed it in the center of the room, right in front of me. I was slightly delirious, but the two of them seemed to be moving a little too fast for humans. I wondered what Yasha meant, ninety seconds for what?

"Done." Kikyo said.

"Thirty seconds." Sess called out, holding my waist in a vice grip and breathing heavier than normal. Yasha came over and took Savage from me, much to mine and the dog's displeasure. Savage growled at Inu who shook his head. "Hey!" I cried out. He ignored me and took a few steps away, standing next to Kikyo. _What the hell were they all going on about?_ I wondered._ So it's about to be my birthday… they're acting like- _

But what they were acting like left my mind in light of a pain so intense, I couldn't even scream. My eyes snapped open and my body went rigid, making Sess hold me tighter. My body arched unnaturally and my mouth opened in a silent, agonizing scream. I felt my body tingling, starting in my chest and spreading throughout my entire body slowly, like syrup. The pain seemed to last forever, as if my muscles were on fire, contracting and cramping painfully over and over and over. My head was throbbing, pounding as though the inside of my skull was being beat on by a hammer. I couldn't move, I couldn't focus on anything, I couldn't speak, I couldn't _breathe_ the pain was so intense. I couldn't hear anything around me. I could only feel Sesshou's arms on my waist, rubbing what was supposed to be soothing circles on my sides. But it felt like he was fueling the fire, making it spread faster, burning me to a crisp from the inside out

And then it just stopped; out of nowhere, as if someone had doused me with ice water. I inhaled deeply, filling my lungs beyond capacity, reveling in the relief that one breath gave me. I was still confused, but felt no need to dwell on why the pain stopped, choosing to wonder where it came from in the first place.

"Wow…" I heard Kikyo mutter from across the room and my gaze shifted from the ceiling, where it'd been fixed, to her, still breathing heavily.

"She didn't scream…" Yasha muttered. "_Damn._" My eyes moved to him next. I stayed still, just breathing for a few moments before finding my voice.

"What the _hell _was that?" I asked and froze. My voice was different. It sounded higher, more into a low soprano sound than the alto I'd been accustomed to for years.

"_That…" _Sesshou muttered breaking me from my thoughts, "…was you turning. It was probably more painful for you since you're half human.

"Turning into what?" I asked, sitting up fully. "And what do you mean I'm _half _human?"

Kikyo, Yasha, and Sesshou all sighed simultaneously.

"Kagome, we're not human." Kikyo said, looking away from me.

"Then what _are _you?" I asked, not buying it.

"We don't have a literal name for our kind…" Kikyo continued, looking to Yasha for support.

He took her hand and said, looking me dead in the eyes, "We call ourselves vultus amoveo… shape shifters… And Kagome… you're one of us…"

I shook my head, a wry smile attaching itself to my face. These people thought I was stupid. _And to think I'd trusted them only for this… _And then I laughed. It was full of amusement, although amused was the last thing I felt at this moment. I felt angry, betrayed, lied to, used… I trusted these people and they lie to me. And for what? Their own amusement? Because they _feel _like it? I don't know, nor do I care anymore. It was ironic, how the people you trust are the first ones to turn on you.

"Don't bullshit me." I demanded.

"You don't believe us?" Kikyo asked angrily, her voice rising in both pitch and volume.

"_I'll _prove it." Sesshou said standing. He set me down on the couch we were on and headed to the center of the room, kicking the clear crystal to the side. Savage leapt out of Yasha's arms and ran over to me, jumping in my lap and sitting up straight, staring at Sesshou with a sense of foreboding. I scratched behind his ear and he tilted his head towards me, his green eyes still on Sesshou, who'd stripped down into nothing. Kikyo was shielding her eyes and Yasha was pointedly looking away.

And then a low sound met my ears, and it sounded like it was coming from Sesshou. I couldn't identify it at first, but after listening for a few moments, realized it was a growl. Sesshou was growling like a dog. Then his eyes started to glow, standing out even more than they did before. And then a light emitted from him, that I couldn't find a source to, and he was glowing so brightly that I had to shield my eyes. When the light died down, there was a black wolf standing before me with bright, intelligent gold eyes set in its skull. Sesshou's eyes.

"What the fuck!?" I yelled, jumping up and climbing onto the back of the couch, tossing Savage off of my lap. The dog leapt onto the ground, growling and sizing the giant wolf up, as if he was going to challenge him.

"You better calm down Kagome." Kikyo said coldly. Apparently she was still pissed at me for not believing her. But honestly, what was I supposed to think?! Was I really supposed to believe that these people that I'd known for years were… what'd they called themselves…? Vultus amoveo… shape shifters… I never knew things like this existed, even in myths and legends I've never heard of this. Werewolves, vampires, harpies… I knew those, at least I've heard of them, and I could probably accept those easier…

"Why should I be calm?!" I screeched, "My boyfriend just turned into a giant wolf!"

My instincts were screaming at me to run, but at the same time, seemed to accept the fact that he could change. It was maddeningly confusing and frustrating that my feelings on the matter contradicted so intensely. It was escalating more and more and more until I felt something inside of me snap and before I understood what was happening, everything around me somehow grew. Confused, I looked around at my surroundings before looking down at myself and screamed. It came out as more of a squawk. Where a human body once sat was now a bird. My clothes were piled on the couch where I was just moments before. I heard someone laughing to my right and turned to see Yasha rolling around on the floor, tears running down his face. I flew at him, following instincts that weren't there before, and started pecking at his face.

"Ow, ow, ow!!" He cried out, trying to swat me out of the air. But I was too fast for him. Then, before my eyes he turned into a large cat. A leopard. It was the most fascinating thing I'd ever seen and I sat still for a moment too long watching him and before I understood what was going on, I was pinned to the ground by a large, spotted paw, and the cat above me was baring its teeth. It looked to be a smirk and it reminded me very much of the person inside the cat. Once the irritation and fear wore off, I felt my legs growing, my wings coming down to form arms and hands, and felt the feathers melt into smooth skin.

I felt myself blushing as I shoved the giant claw off of my chest and scooted as far from Yasha as I could. He was making a hissing sound that seemed to me to be laughter.

"Shut up asshole." I muttered, grabbing one of the pillows off the couch and covering as much of my bare skin as I could. Yash was only teasing, I knew, but it still bothered me when he lay down and stared at me. Blushing still, I turned away, looking right at Savage and Sesshou, who seemed to have made a truce. Savage was moving towards me and sat directly in front of me, trying to shield me from Yasha's annoyingly piercing stare it seemed, and Sesshou dove at Yash.

I screamed, all the snarling and hissing and growling scaring me shitless, but Kikyo came over and knelt next to me, an irritated look on her face.

"Enough with the screaming already, damn."

I glared at her. "Fuck you, alright? What's your problem?"

"I don't have a problem." She snapped. "I'm just a little irritated that my boyfriend's ogling other girls."

"Don't you think I'm irritated that the other girl had to be me? And while my boyfriend was in the room no less!"

Her eyes softened for a moment and she looked away. "Yash is so stupid." She muttered. "He knows Sesshoumaru is the Alpha…"

"As in a pack?" I asked. She nodded.

"There's a _lot _you have to learn Gome." Kikyo said seriously, shaking her head. "You're in for a rough couple months…"

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A/N:

Review replies:

InvisbleOneWithNoFaith: thanx

PK (): thank you! I'll definitely keep writing.

elfy rd (): lmao take a chill pill buddy, I'm not gonna stop writing… I like this story and I'm determined to see it to its end.

sess and kags always: I'm not gonna stop the story… I like it, and there's others that do to and it wouldn't be fair to just stop it now…

xXxBeWArExXx: thank you, and yeah, I'm keeping it. ;p

emma221: glad you like it, and good advice, thanks!

Kattana: now you see what the rush was? lol... they expected lots and lots of screaming.... so yeah... hahaha

Hateful Symphony: THIS JUST IN.... this person has no life outside of talking shit about other people's stories. BEWARE THE LIFELESS IDIOT!!!

MooMoo-of-doom: i will!


	5. Chapter 5 Travel

Chapter 5 – Travel 

Early the next morning, before I even woke up, we were back on the road.

"Why do we have to leave?" I asked when I finally woke up. Sesshoumaru and I were still in the backseat. I was laid out with my head in his lap, looking up at him, Savage, still sleeping, was on my stomach.

"We're being hunted." He said, running his fingers through my hair.

"By who?"

"People…" He said, shrugging his shoulders. "Vampire hunters, werewolf hunters…"

"_That's _what we are?" I asked, surprised.

"No." He said. "We're vultus amoveo, like Inuyasha said. But a lot of the rumors about vampires and werewolves come from us."

"Like…"

"Like, the fact that vampires can turn into bats… They can't. The people that the vampire hunters see aren't vampires, they're vultus amoveo. And some people think that werewolves look like normal wolves when they turn, but they don't. They look like we look halfway through the transformation and they stay that way for the rest of their lives after they turn the first time. They can't turn back and forth like we can. They're just really hairy people with pointed teeth, ears, and claws and hunched backs. But they have the mind of an animal, no common sense and no sense of right and wrong."

"How strange…" I muttered. "Why would anyone want to turn into a bat?"

"It's not like they have much of a choice." He muttered back.

"What do you mean?"

"Most people can only turn into one animal at first. Only the ancients can turn into multiple animals, and sometimes even other humans."

"Ancients?" I asked.

"The oldest of our kind." Sess answered. "I guess you could call them our leaders, but we don't really have anyone leading us. There's only one rule to our existence and it's really simple; don't expose us."

I nodded as best as I could and lay back, trying to digest it all.

"You better stop that train of thought before you finish it Kikyo." Sesshoumaru said suddenly a few minutes later, in a voice so deadly and cold I felt a shiver run up my back.

"Well excuse me if I fell like Kagome is an unfit Alpha-female. She doesn't even know what her powers are, and her animal is a bird. A bird, Sesshou. You know everyone's animal is reflected by their character at first. Kagome turning into a bird says that she runs from everything, and you know it."

"If you don't want to go with how I run my pack, feel free to leave. Now. Inuyasha, pull over."

He did so silently, but I could tell he was hoping Kikyo would shut up. While idling on the side of the road, Kikyo and Sesshoumaru were glaring at each other silently. Eventually, Kikyo sighed and laid her head on her shoulder, exposing her neck. I guessed it was some form of submission, because Sess nodded and ordered Yash to keep driving.

"I guess she hates me now huh…?" I muttered so only Sess could hear it.

"No. She's just used to leading and she doesn't want to have to follow anyone, especially a newborn." He whispered just as quietly. "In her opinion, it's degrading for her to have to follow someone she could defeat in a fight, but its commonplace for the Alpha male's mate to be the Alpha female… Kikyo's just too stubborn to accept it."

"How do you know that?"

"It's one of my powers… I can read minds…"

"_No way!" _I cried out, sitting up, tossing Savage off of me by accident. "Even mine?" I asked.

Sesshou nodded.

"What am I thinking about then?" I asked, and kept repeating _nothing _over and over in my head.

He laughed. "You can't just think about nothing forever Gome. Trust me, the mind wanders."

I sat still, gaping at him in absolute surprise. "That is so cool!" I cried out. "Is that a part of the change?" I asked.

"Yeah, good guess." Sesshoumaru said, grinning at me.

"So will I be able to read minds too?" I asked, curious.

"I doubt it. Everyone has a different power. Kikyo can predict stuff. Like the exact time of your change and why we had to get you out early. Her power really comes in handy. And Yasha is fast when he needs to be. But the speed kind of eats away at him when he tries to go for too long, so he either has to eat while he goes or just stop."

"Are we the only four in your pack?" I asked.

Sess shook his head. "There's roughly fifteen of us so far. Three of them are newborns, like you."

"What're their names?" I asked, curious of the people I was sure to be closer to than the others.

"Michelle, Miroku, and Sango." He said, "Most people change their names after they turn, preferring to take a new name to go with the new identity. I chose not to."

"Me too; I like my first name. My last name… it's disposable." I said, grinning.

"What do you want your last name to be, then?"

"I don't know yet." I said grinning. "Something different. Something everyone will remember." I said, trailing off and sitting back against the seat next to Sesshou. "Why exactly did you have to get me out early?" I asked, curious.

Sess hesitated before speaking, "Those people you live with, they're not your parents… They're hunters of our kind specifically and they adopted you when you were young so they could study how we grow… on your eighteenth birthday, today, they were planning on killing you." He muttered the last part, looking away from me.

"W-what?" I asked, horrified.

"The dog you call Savage is your familiar. All mystical things get one, it's usually a normal animal that's the same animal you turn into, but with the soul of an immortal, sent to protect you… Savage is too young to efficiently protect anybody and would have died along with you in an attempt to save your life… Kikyo saw this, so we got you out early."

As horrifying as all of this sounded, it sort of made sense. Now I understood why Savage hated my parents so much… my mind felt blank, and for a moment, I couldn't breathe. Tears rolled down my face before I was able to stop them and I closed my eyes, looking away, so I wouldn't see the pity on Jason's face as he watched me cry. My parents hated me. They used me like some kind of sick, twisted science experiment, and planned to kill me on my eighteenth birthday. I silently wondered if they planned on dissecting my corpse to look for abnormalities. I had to force down a laugh at the irony of the entire situation.

I'd done everything I could to act like I wasn't a teenager. I wouldn't rebel even though there were times I should have, I listened, never talked back, did my chores all the time, didn't smoke or drink, never even tried the stuff, and always got straight A's. I was a golden child. All of my friend's parents used to try to get my friends to act like me. No piercings except the ones on my ears, no tattoos, I've never dyed my hair… and my parents were ready to kill me over something that I couldn't help. I wondered if there was something I could've done to change their minds…

"Don't blame yourself Kagome. It's not your fault. The hunters are as bad as demons; they're monsters with no souls."

I shook my head, trying not to think about it. I was suddenly really tired. A yawn escaped before I could stifle it.

"Go to sleep," Sess said, pulling me into his lap. I leaned my head on his chest, tucking my head under his chin, and beckoned Savage back into my lap. After a few cautious steps to ensure that I wasn't going to suddenly get up, he crawled into my lap and curled up, his head on his paws. I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around Sess and allowed myself to drift off into unconsciousness.

A/N:

Review Replies:

xXxBeWArExXx: I cant promise anything on longer chapters, most of them are already written, but I'll see what I can do from where I left off. And yeah, I know H.S. is nothing but an untalented wannabe with nothing to do with their meaningless lives than try to put other people down to make themselves feel better. ;p tch. People these days. Hahaha. Glad you like it!!

Happymystery12 : I'm sure it's the same for all the newbies.

Kattana: they were born the way they are. It's in their genes. They knew she was going to be one because Kikyo is sorta psychic, and her mother was one. The gene is hereditary, even if the father or mother is human, as long as the other parent is a shape shifter, the child will be half of one too. Usually tho, the Halflings don't last to adulthood, so nobody knew how she'd end up. Lol. Any other questions you can just PM me, and I'll be happy to get back to you.


	6. Chapter 6 The Pack

Chapter 6 – The Pack

I awoke, later, to the sound of wolves howling. I opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was another pair of orange eyes. Startled, I let out a surprised yelp and crawled back a few paces, looking around me. I was outside on a bench in front of a camouflage painted five story building in the middle of the forest. There were windows placed about three to five feet apart from each other, most likely separating the rooms, and there were about seven on this side of the building, a door in the middle.

The boy who'd startled me laughed and stood up straight, bringing my attention back to him. I huffed and took a moment to take in the boy's appearance. His hair was black with orange streaks, and his teeth were bright. It set me back, along with his eyes

"Hey." He said. "I'm Miroku."

I looked around, wondering where Sess went, before muttering, "Hey, I'm Kagome."

"That's a pretty name, did you change it?" He asked. I shook my head, still looking for Sess.

"Am I bothering you?" He asked, and he didn't sound offended, to my surprise, only curious.

I looked at him, the surprise showing on my face and shook my head again, "No!" I exclaimed. "I'm just wondering where my boyfriend went."

Now he looked surprised. "Lobo is your boyfriend?"

"Wha- who?" I asked, taken back.

"Wolf. That name was a little boring so we just call him Lobo… its wolf in Spanish." Miroku explained.

I nodded. "Oh… well then I think so… I only know one person who turns into a wolf so…"

"Sesshoumaru." He said, clearly a little miffed that Jason hadn't told me about their nickname for him. "That's who I'm talking about. There's more than one person who turns into a wolf but he's the only one we call that."

"Oh, yeah he's my boyfriend." I said, grinning a little.

"So you're the girl who's replacing Kikyo as alpha. Huh…" he muttered. "You're strong, but still new… _What_ is that man thinking…?"

"You don't think I'll make a good alpha?" I asked, fear lacing my voice and gripping my heart.

"No, no, no that's not what I meant!" Miroku said. "It's just, you're new, so it's going to take you at least a few months to get acquainted with everyone and get a good grip on your powers. If we're attacked in that time, it'll be harder to get things under control since you're new to the pack."

"Oh…" I muttered, the fear not leaving. "Well do you know where Sess went?"

"He's having a meeting with Kikyo, Inuyasha, and Miche- I mean _Pandora_." Miroku said, scoffing. "Her name is so ridiculous…" He muttered

"I think it's pretty. Does her power have an effect like Pandora's Box or something?"

"Or something." A pretty girl with long, white stripped black hair and bright, ice blue eyes said walking up, an albino tiger cub at her side that was still small. Savage, who I just noticed, stood in front of me and growled, clearly mistrusting of the girl and her tiger.

"Shh." I cooed, scratching behind Sav's ears and getting him to sit and stop barking. I giggled at his protectiveness. The small tiger was about the same size as Savage and just as protective of the girl. It walked in front of her, its eyes on me and Sav, refusing to look anywhere else.

"I'm Sango," the girl said, "And this," she pointed to the tiger, "Is Kilala."

"Nice to meet you. I'm-"

"Oh I know who you are Miss. Gome. You've sure pissed off the she-wolf. She's off fighting with Dante right now."

"Kikyo's a wolf?" I asked.

Sango nodded and came to sit next to me. "There are three wolves in our pack, Lobo, who's a black wolf, Kikyo who's a grey wolf, and Kagura who's a red wolf. I'd watch out for Kagura if I were you, she's got the hots for Lobo. There's four tigers, me, Miroku, Jabari, and Ranee. Two foxes, Souten and Shippou. Three birds, Hope, Destiny, and Fate, they're corny, I know. Then we've got one leopard, Yasha, a bobcat, Rin, a raccoon, Giovanni, a horse, Raissia, and Pandora, who's a snake. What're you?"

"Ummm… I'm not sure…" I muttered. "I turned into a bird once, but it didn't feel right, like I was borrowing something else's form…"

Sango looked startled, and Miroku grinned. "Amazing… you really are her…" He muttered.

"Who?"

"Our savior…" He whispered. There was an excitement in his voice that was clear. "You're the woman from the prophecy…"

"What prophecy, what're you talking about?" I asked, my panic level rising. This was too much. I'd just realized I was one of them and already I was supposed to be part of some prophecy that I knew nothing about…

"There's a barrier on your mind…" Miroki muttered suddenly, tilting his head to the side, his eyebrows knitting together. "Sango, my love, would you do the honors?" He asked sweetly, turning to her.

Sango shook her head, "I'm not getting in this. It's between you, her, and Lobo when he chops your manhood from your body."

I saw Miroku cross his legs for a moment, before steeling himself and looking me directly in my eyes.

"Kagome…" He said, his voice ringing with sincerity. "There's something in your mind blocking you from remembering something you should. I'm a sensor, I know these things. I want to dispel it, but it's going to hurt… are you willing to do it?"

I hesitated for a moment before nodding. I was sure these people wouldn't hurt me purposely unless there was a reason. If I was wrong, heads were going to roll.

Miroku came close to me, one hand just out of reach of my temple on both sides of my head. Savage was sitting in my lap, staring Miroku down. "Relax." He said, bowing his head and closing his eyes. I did so and closed my eyes too.

After a while, I'm not sure how long it took, it felt like something was poking inside my head. It was uncomfortable, but not painful, until a certain spot got poked. I whimpered, and the poker backed off before ramming, full force, into the sore spot. A scream tore from my throat and I felt my body writhing in absolute agony. Suddenly, the pain ceased. I opened my eyes slowly and saw Yasha's leopard form crouching in front of me, growling, a pair of pants still draped loosely on his form, and Miroku on the floor five feet behind him, panting, a white tiger larger than Kilala crouched over him, growling back at Yasha. Savage and Kilala were both put out, standing to the side as if in shock.

"Wait, wait, stop!" I cried out, scrambling to my feet and going to stand in between Ace and the tiger. "Yasha, enough." I said, flicking his nose. "Miroku was trying to help me regain some repressed memories, chill out." He bowed his head, and turned back right in front of my eyes. I was silently glad that he'd left the pants on.

"And _you,_" I said, turning to the white tiger that looked so much like Kilala, "Sango…?" I asked suddenly, surprised. The tiger nodded. "Well it's safe now; you can go turn back too." She bowed, turned tail and started walking away, grabbing Miroku by the back of his shirt and growling under her breath. Kilala then got up and followed them away.

I hadn't noticed before, but the rest of the pack had gathered to watch the excitement. I felt my face heat up at all the attention and tried not to get too embarrassed. However, fate was not on my side, for eventually, my embarrassment reached its peak and I felt my form shifting into something else. Unlike the last time I turned, I felt more at home in this form than I had in my human one. When I was done turning, I heard gasps all around and figured it must be an ostrige or something. I lie on the ground and put my paws over my face, then sat up, staring down at myself.

I had paws… At first, I thought I was a fox, but then I heard Sesshou speak.

"She is an Ethiopian wolf, the rarest and most powerful animal of our kind. How much more proof do you need to understand that Kagome is perfect to be your alpha? Once she is trained, I'll be sure to allow a few of you the chance to fight her for the spot. Until then, you will follow my orders or I will expel you from my pack." And with that, Sess turned around and started turning into his wolf form when someone attempted to attack him from behind.

I saw the person crouch and dive and before I knew what I was doing, I dove and tackled them to the ground, snarling in the fox's face. It was a male, and I knew it must be Shippou. He was grinning as best as a fox could grin, but bared his neck to me. Instinctively, I relaxed and took a step off but the fox swiped his paw across my face, I felt blood leaking down my right cheek in three different places, one right under my eye. The force of the hit was such that it knocked me off my feet. I rolled over and came up in a defensive crouch just as Shippou dove at me. I ducked and turned around in time to grab one of his legs in my jaw and bit down as hard as I could, feeling the bone start to break under my teeth.

"Enough." I heard my mate's voice and let go, trotting over to him, sitting down and letting out a whine. He ignored me, in full Alpha mode. "Shippou, what is the meaning of this?" he demanded. I turned back into a human, feeling the bone and skin morph and stretch.

"Just testing the she Alpha sir." I heard Shippou say, pain laced in his voice, which sounded young. He couldn't be any older than a teenager.

"Did I pass your ridiculous test?" I asked, whipping the blood from my face and accepting the jacket Sesshou offered me to cover up, refusing to look at Shippou.

"Yeah…" he whimpered. I saw a woman with long black, white tipped hair and red eyes in the crowd trying to get through and assumed her to be Souten.

"Ranee, take Shippou to the infirmary and see to it that his leg heals." Sess commanded and a woman with orange, black and blonde streaked hair and bright orange eyes came forward, lifted Shippou with the help of Souten and they walked off.

"Disperse." Sesshou commanded again, and everyone went their own ways except one woman. She had black wavy hair and red eyes.

"It's good to meet you my alpha." She said, bowing her head slightly. "I'm Kagura."

My eyes narrowed slightly. "Nice to meet you too." I said kindly, hiding my true feelings of mistrust.

She bowed to Sesshou before walking away.

"She likes you." I said to him. I wouldn't have needed Sango to tell me that after all. It was painted bright red in the way she looked at him.

"Yes." He sighed. "It doesn't matter though. If she challenges you after I'm done training you, you'll mutilate her."

I grinned, taking his hand, "I hope you're right."

He took my chin in his hand and turned my head so he could see my cut better. "I'm definitely right." He said. "You kicked Shippou's ass, and he's a good hundred years old."

"What?!" I yelled, jerking my chin from his hands.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, we don't age after twenty. I'm a hundred and fifty… all the packs have to have one illusionist so they can mainstream. Raissia is ours."

"Holy hell…" I muttered.

"Let's go get these cuts looked at, shall we?" Sesshou said, offering me his arm. I took it with a smile and we headed into the huge building.

* * *

A/N:

_**Ummm, I still need a title guys, help?**_

Review replies:

**Rhianna224: **thanks…?

**Kattana: **glad I'm answering questions. Remember, if you have more, don't hesitate to PM me and I'll be sure 2 get you an answer asap

**0-NiGhTmaRe-0: **I have _a lot _of the chapters already down. And you'll see bout the parents, what I will say is, you're half right. Lol. And yeah, if kagome wasn't so sweet and kind hearted, she probably would too. but I have plans for them *insert evil laugh here*

**Anonymous: **lol, oops… well, most of my stories that are AU are actual stories that I write on my free time… at first, they're not intended to be fanfictions, but I end up posting them and changing the character's names. Jason is Sesshoumaru… my mistake, I try to get them all but I'm only human! Thank you for reading.


	7. Chapter 7 Pandora

Chapter 7 – Pandora 

According to the healer, Ranee, the cuts were not as dire as they looked. They would scar, a fact that Sesshou wasn't happy about, but other than that they'd heal just fine in two days time even without her help. But since she was determined to help, it would only be one day. However, in those twenty four hours I couldn't change or it'd off-set the skin and mess up the healing process.

"You're a strong one." Ranee said, smiling, as she put some foul smelling ointment on the cuts to speed up the healing process. "Nobody's been able to put Shippou in his place except for Sess in fifty years… Kikyo was getting there, but you showed him whose boss. I'm honored to have you as my alpha, Kagome."

I was surprised, but I recovered quickly and smiled at her. "I'm honored to be your alpha, Ranee."

The smile I got back from her could've lit up the sky.

Just then, a girl with black hair with red on the bottom and snake-like black eyes with blood red pupils walked in and sat down in a seat facing me. She crossed her legs and tilted her head to the side. Ranee took that moment to leave.

"You're Kagome, right?" She asked. I nodded. "Nice cuts. You're going to have scars." She said with a sadistic grin, as though the fact I was having scars pleased her.

"I know." I said, tilting my chin up in a defiant way. "It's kinda cool to have battle scars. I've never been in a fight before."

The girl's grin widened and I noticed snake-like fangs protruding from her mouth.

"You're Pandora, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, that's me."

"What's your power?" I asked, leaning forward.

"I can force a person's evils and faults to the surface if I want, and if I don't want them at surface, I can still see them myself."

"What're my faults and evils?"

"You…" She trailed off and the red from her pupils spread throughout her entire eye until the pupil was black and the rest of her eye was red. "…you don't have any evils that I can sense… you must be the purest person I've ever met… but you're faults…" She snorted. "You're concerned that you're not fitted to be the she-Alpha, and you're insecure about what you look like, since you haven't seen a mirror since you got here… ummm… you're worried about training… Basically, you're biggest fault is that you worry too much." Pandora finished, her eyes going back to how they were.

"That is _so_ cool." I said, eyes going wide in awe.

"Thank you." She said. "Oh, is this little bugg yours?" She asked, pulling Savage out of the inside pocket of her coat.

"Savage!" I cried out, holding out my arms. "Yeah, he's my dog…"

"It figures that you'd have a German Sheppard. Our kind says they descended from the Ethiopian Wolf." Pandora says, handing him to me. "It's said that an Ethiopian Wolf and a black wolf mated and their kids were a wild version of the German Sheppard we know today."

I took savage from her arms and let him sit in my lap, sniffing towards Pandora.

"I take it you've got a red bellied black snake as your familiar, right?"

"Yeah, how could you tell?" She asked.

"Your hair and your eyes. Plus, you have snake fangs and when you talk, I noticed that your tongue is slightly forked…"

"Damn girl!" Pandora cried out, laughing. "You're really observant aren't you?"

I giggled, "Yeah, I guess."

Pandora shook her head, still chuckling, "Yeah, I've got a red bellied black snake as a familiar. Her name is Ebony." As though she'd been called, a snake slithered around Pandora's leg, up her torso and settled itself with its head on her right shoulder. Ebony was roughly five feet long, almost as tall as me, yet thin, but I was sure that if she wanted too, Ebony could kill both me and Savage before we could fight back.

"You'll make an amazing Alpha, Gome. And take that as the best compliment you'll ever get because I haven't even told Sesshoumaru that he's a good Alpha."

I smiled. "Thanks Pandora… that really means a lot to me."

"Yeah," She said, "I know." She then stood up, Ebony on her shoulders, and left the room.

I started my training at sunrise the next morning. Pandora woke me up by sending Ebony into my bed. I woke up, screaming, a full thirty seconds after realizing something was in my bed that shouldn't be, and fell in a heap on the floor. When I was finally able to shake off the disorientation and see straight, I could see Pandora standing in the corner of my room, laughing silently. Once we locked gazes, however, she was unable to hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.

"Oh ha-ha." I said, getting up off the floor and rubbing my eyes.

"Here." Pandora said, tossing a bundle at me. "Get dressed and meet me downstairs."

I nodded, realizing that the bundle was clothes, and closed the door as she left, peeling the clothes apart.

Five minutes later, I met Pandora outside the building dressed in a pair of black shorts and a red tank top, Savage at my heels. I was pulling my hair into a ponytail as I walked up.

"Not bad," she said, looking at a watch on her wrist.

"You were timing me?" I asked, confused.

"Yep. We're going to be doing this every morning so I need to know how long I'm going to have to wait for you because I _really_ don't like waiting."

"Wait… doing _what _every morning?"

Pandora smirked at me, showing her fangs, before jogging out into the forest. Groaning, I followed her.

The sun was higher in the sky when we finally got back to the dorms, and I was exhausted. My chest was heaving and there was sweat on every inch of my body. It'd only been an hour by my guess.

"You're really out of shape." Pandora said, shaking her head and slowing to a walk, putting her hands behind her head, Ebony slithering right next to her, even with her quick pace. Savage and I were slightly behind, it seemed like he was just as tired as I was, trotting next to me, tongue hanging out of his mouth. Pandora stopped just outside the dorm building and turned to face me. I was jealous at her even breathing.

"You… shut… up…" I panted, coming to a stop next to her, hands on my knees, breathing heavily. I looked up at her and saw her give a signal. I was confused until I felt a sharp pain in my butt and stood up straight, both hands covering said body part, looking at Pandora incredulously.

"Thank you Ebony." She said before smirking at me. "Walk around. You're not supposed to just stop after running for that long. And we've had to run for longer as shape shifters. You'd be dead right now if a real need to run came, in human form at least. We'll try it in your wolf form after breakfast.

"T-there's more?!" I asked, following Pandora back to my room.

"Yup. Every Monday you run with me, Tuesday you'll try to break that barrier on your mind with Miroku, Wednesday you get to figure out your powers with Sango, Thursday it's hand to hand combat with Yasha, and every Friday you spar, hand to hand, with Kikyo until you can beat her. Once you can beat Kikyo, you get weapons training with Yasha until you can beat her, and once you can beat Kikyo at weapons training, your training will most likely be finished."

"Oh shit…" I muttered.

"Yeah," Pandora said, pushing me into my room with her index fingers. "Oh shit is right."

* * *

A/N: Title...? Anyone...?

**Kattana**: lol, definitely exciting. And it just keeps getting more so as time goes by.

**Rhianna224**: I never thought about it like that… thanks for your insight, glad you like it!


	8. Chapter 8 Training

Chapter 8 – Training

I got to see a mirror about three day after I got to… wherever we were at. It turns out that my appearance had changed as much as my voice had. My brown eyes had darkened even more and now my pupils were pitch black. Any normal human who saw me probably thought I looked demonic, but it didn't matter to me. My skin looked as though I'd been in the sun a lot, but not unhealthy, just tanned. My hair, which used to be black, was now a reddish brown color with whitish blonde highlights and dark brown, almost black tips and my hair ended in a diamond shape. My ears were pointed like an elf's and my canine teeth had become pointed like a dog's.

My training was hell. Mondays were mostly just tiring. We _never _ran this much in cheer. And it wasn't just jogging; Pandora had me and Savage damn near sprinting to keep up with her. She'd branched out to trying to make me more flexible once she realized I actually _was _flexible, so we ran until the sun went down and did a bunch of stretching exercises after dark.

Tuesdays were just painful. Miroku and I had to go deep into the forest so that nobody would hear my screaming. It's been about three weeks and that barrier has not budged. Miroku thinks my "parents" put it up and were able to strengthen it over the years. I wasn't sure; all I knew was that trying to break through it hurt a lot.

Wednesday wasn't bad the first week. Part of Sango's power was to sense other peoples' powers so we only had to meditate the first day. If she wanted to, she could use my own power against me without ever touching me. After that, Sango trained me on how to control my powers. That was tiring _and _painful.

Since Yasha was such a good teacher and tried not to hit me much, Thursdays weren't painful at all, just tiring. I usually left with a headache at all the techniques that I had to remember.

Fridays, on the other hand, left me tired, sore, in pain, and wondering why the hell I put up with all this bullshit.

My weekends consisted of sleep, food, and quality time with Sesshou.

It's Tuesday now, and I just got to the middle of the forest where Roku and I dig into my mind. I was just in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt since we didn't do any hard training on Tuesdays.

"I have a good feeling about today." He said as soon as I sat down. It was nothing new, he said this every day.

I nodded and sat down, beckoning Savage to my lap where he sat and stared down Miroku like he always did.

"Relax." Roku said, putting his hands by my head. I did so and bowed my head. As usual, I felt the prodding at the spot. At first, it didn't bother me, so used to the pain that I was. But after a while, the pain increased. I gritted my teeth to stop from crying out, but as the pain reached its peak, an agonized howl tore from my throat and a memory that I didn't know I had surfaced in my mind:

"_Where're you going mommy?" A young me asked a woman. I couldn't make out her face, but she had long red and gold hair, like a phoenix, and bright gold eyes._

"_I have to go talk to Daddy." She said to me. Her voice was like beautiful music. "I'll be right back." _

_I watched her walk outside and crawled up onto the couch to look out the window. There was a man outside who I assumed was my dad. I couldn't make out his face, but he was taller than my mom. _

_Him and the woman I'd called mother stood about a foot apart from one another and were speaking with exuberant gestures for a few minutes. My stomach was knotting up, but I couldn't figure out why until I suddenly saw my mother double over in pain. The man stood, shaking his head, regret in his eyes, before coming towards the house. With a shriek, I dove from the couch and ran to my room, sliding under my bed. _

_A few minutes later, I heard his footsteps coming into my room and held my breath. He walked around the room, opening my closet and looking in there for me. After another minute or so, he was behind me. I wouldn't move to watch him until the hairs on the back of my neck were prickling out of control. I turned around as silently as I could and couldn't hold back the scream of terror that escaped my mouth. _

_The man, who was laying down, just staring at me, was my father. And as sick as it is, he's the same man who raised me as an experiment with the intent to kill me at eighteen. That man is really my father. He muttered something, his palm facing me, and the last thing I remembered was blackness._

I gasped, surfacing from the memory, and opened my eyes. The first thing I saw was Miroku's terrified face.

"Oh thank God!" He called out, grabbing my hands and yanking me to my feet, throwing Savage to the ground. I was shaking as my mind was bombarded with old memories and I leaned on Miroku for support. My real mother, my father and I going to the park, me in my room while my mom and dad argued, a kid who looked a lot like Sesshou and I playing on the playground at a school.

Suddenly, Sesshou was at my side, lifting me off the ground and running back towards the dorms, Jaden not far behind us. The last thing I heard before I fell unconscious was Savage barking.

When I woke up the next morning, I felt Sess running his fingers through my hair. It was soothing, and I rolled over into his chest, snuggling as close to him as I could. My head hurt, but other than that, no side effects remained from regaining my memories the day prior.

"How early is it?" I whispered, trying not to wake Savage, who I felt was right by my feet.

"It's just before sunrise." Sesshoumaru whispered back.

I kissed his neck, right under his chin, and got out of bed, flicking Savage's nose to wake him up and going to my dresser to get the clothes I wear to train with Sango. It was nothing special, a crème shirt with billowy sleeves that I'd cut the shoulders off of. On the end of the sleeve, where my hands came out, were tiny holes that I stuck my thumbs through so that I could still use my hands. I also wore stretchy black shorts and a pair of black tennis shoes. I pulled my hair up in a pony tail and was about to walk out the door when Sesshou stepped in front of me.

"You don't want to talk about yesterday?" He asked softly.

I shook my head. "The only thing I have to say about yesterday is that the man who killed my mother will suffer before he dies."

I then beckoned to Savage and left the room.

"Morning Sango!" I called out as soon as she was in sight. She waved at me and grinned as Savage and Sapphire ran off to play.

It turns out that I have power over the elements as my offensive power. Right now, I'm only really good with Earth, because that's all I can use since we're not really near any water and it's more difficult to work with air. It takes a lot of meditation to try and right now it's easier to just be able to work with what I can see.

"You ready?" She asked, sitting in the center of the clearing we were in. I nodded, standing straight. Sango's defensive power is that she can create force fields so to help me control my powers, she lets me launch parts of the earth at her and she just blocks it. It's just as good as telekinesis.

Using only my mind, I pointed to one of the trees at the edge of the clearing and flicked my wrist slightly. The tree came up out of the ground from the roots and hovered in midair, waiting for my command. With a slight twitch of my hand, I had the tree launched at Sango, who blocked it just before it hit her.

And so the battle began. I launched trees, rocks, dirt clumps and anything else made from the earth at Sango, who would block the thing before it hit her.

After about thirty minutes of this, I got bored. "San I want to try something new." I called out.

"Like what?" She asked.

"I don't know… I want to learn to control all of the elements."

"Do you want me to leave you alone with that?" She asked dryly.

"Actually…" I muttered, "I think that's a wonderful idea."

Sango looked at me strangely before getting up and leaving the clearing.

I then moved to the center of the clearing and laid down, feeling the grass beneath me, and suddenly got an idea.

I closed my eyes and imagined I was weightless. My body was as light as the air… my body _was_ the air.

And I found that was the trick. Suddenly, I knew how to control the wind. The only way to _control _the wind was to _become_ the wind. I opened my eyes and found myself in the air. It didn't faze me; the wind was a part of my soul. With just a thought, I could turn it in any direction I wanted, no problem. With another thought, I focused on the water vapor in the air and combine the molecules enough to make clouds above me. It took a while, but eventually, I caused it to rain. No, that would be the understatement of the century.

I made it _storm_. The rain was falling, hard and heavy and the wind was blowing in every direction. After a while, I reached into the sky and ripped it, causing lightning to strike and thunder to scream.

"Kagome what the fuck are you doing?!" Sango's voice snapped me out of my trance and I stopped everything. The wind and the rain and lightning stopped all at once, and I dropped from the sky right in front of her.

"I was making a storm before you interrupted me." I said with a smile.

"I see you've figured out how to master your powers." Sango said, smiling.

"To control the wind you must become the wind." I said cryptically, grinning back broadly.

Sango shook her head, still smiling at me. "You're something else kid."

A/N:

Review Replies:

Kattana: lol, yea a bite on the butt doesn't seem too great… and yea, sess would love to train her, but he wants her to make some friends and get acquainted with some ppl in the pack besides him, Kikyo, and Yasha…

0-NiGhTmaRe-0: if you think of one, let me know? You're onto something there, I like how you think ;p

IcePhinox: yea I thought of something like that but I think its simple too… thanks for your idea though.

Estelin: glad u lik it

1bluefire: thank u!


	9. Chapter 9 Attack on Fort SS

Chapter 8 – Attack on Fort S.S.

It's been about three months since I discovered how to control my powers and got my memories back. Nothing's really changed. Kikyo still beats me when we fight, but it's getting less and less drastic every time. I'm pretty sure that I'll beat her tomorrow. I can already beat her hand to hand, now it's just a matter of using my powers and my weapons training to beat her.

I also figured out my defensive power. It's nothing special, but I can sense it when someone's nearby. Like right now, I'm in my room alone and I can sense Sesshou coming over here. I'm not sure if he's coming to my room but he's on my floor.

I kind of know where we are now, to an extent. We're somewhere in Latin America, I think it's in Mexico, where forests are scarce, but we happened to find one, surrounding an old building that I think used to be a school, or was supposed to be one.

I've got a perfect grip on my powers now, I can conjure up fire, lightening, and ice at will, and I control the elements around me with barely even a thought. Sango was blown away by how fast I got a hold on my powers. We spar all the time now, but I always win. It's the same kind of thing with Yash. He's an amazingly skilled fighter in some ways, of that I was certain, but he was predictable, thus, easy to beat. Kikyo, on the other hand, wasn't predictable. She changes her strategy every time we fight, so it's like I'm fighting a different person every week.

"Gome, you there?" Sesshou's voice called from outside the door, catching Savage's attention. He was sitting next to me. I looked up from the mirror I was brushing my hair in front of and called out, "Yeah, come in."

Sess came in and sat behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. "How're you doing today?" He asked, smiling at me over my shoulder.

I shrugged. "I'm good. A little tired but not really. You?"

He shrugged too. "I'm pretty good. Someone new showed up today… a bear."

"That's cool." I said. "What's their name?" I asked.

Sesshoumaru paused before answering. "Souta."

I froze, mid-brush. Savage growled. "My brother Souta?" I asked. Sess nodded slowly. I stood up sharply, hundreds of emotions running through me at one time. Surprise, anger, longing, love…

"Where is he?" I asked, turning to face him.

Sesshou beckoned to me and left the room. I followed, Savage at my side, making sure to blow the door closed behind me.

Five minutes later, in the main building, Sess and I entered a room where Souta sat, his writs chained to the bed, the only piece of furniture, which sat under the window.

"Sesshoumaru what the hell?" I yelled, looking from Souta's chains to his white, scared face, before looking back to Sess. Savage started growling at Souta, stepping to stand in front of me. I ignored him.

"He cannot be trusted." Sesshou said. "He has been tainted by the _venators_." He said the word with venom.

"Venators…?" I asked.

"Hunters." Jason said back. "Your… 'parents…' have tainted the boy. He claimed to have escaped from them but Raissia, who can sense these things, says that he lies…"

I turned to Sesshou, looked him dead in the face and said, "Let my brother go."

He stood and asserted his dominance by standing at his full height and looking down at me. "No. Not until I know he is trustworthy."

"He is my brother." I said, emphasizing each word carefully.

"I will not allow you to lose all the respect you've gained by letting this boy loose to wreak havoc on our people."

I growled low in my throat before turning on my heel and leaving the building, refusing to bare my neck in submission. Once I got to the forest, I stripped down to nothing and ran off into the evening light, Savage at my side.

When I returned to my room, feeling high and gratefully sleepy, I fell deep asleep.

It was three days later when I woke up.

At first, I didn't understand why people were looking at me so strangely when I left my room, feeling slightly stiff, but when Sesshou ran up and hugged me, muttering to himself, I had to ask what was up.

"You've been sleeping for three days, Kagome!" He almost yelled, holding me at arm's length.

I stepped back in surprise, almost crushing Savage's tail, and shouted, "There's no way!"

"There is. Oh," He said as though he'd just remembered. "You're brother is free as of today. If he's being controlled we can't seem to find the source, although he is under very strict watch by Kikgo, Yasha, and myself."

"So he gets the b.o.t.d.?" I asked, excited.

"Yes Kagome."

I squealed and jumped on him, wrapping my arms and legs around his torso.

He laughed, shaking his head and wrapped his arms around my waist before saying, "His room is across the hall from yours. He should be in there about now… I hope neither of you hold a grudge against us for holding him… we can never be too careful, you know?"

I nodded, kissing Sesshou's neck before detaching myself, suddenly tired once more. I swayed on my feet for a moment before Jason steadied me, hands on my waist.

"Are you ok Gome?" He asked. His voice sounded like it was coming through a tunnel. I shook my head and put my hands on his chest.

"I'm not sure. I think I might be getting sick." I muttered. "Or already sick…" I looked up into his concerned blue eyes and sighed. "I'm going to say hey to my little brother and then I'm going back to sleep, ok?"

Sesshou nodded, pulling me into a hug. "I'll come see you in the morning with some soup and crackers, ok?"

I giggled, nodding against Sesshoumaru's chest, before pulling back, kissing his cheek, and heading unsteadily back to the dorms, Savage right at my heels like he always was.

As soon as I opened the door to his room, Souta rammed into me, wrapping his arms around me.

"Kagome oh my goodness, thank God you're alright!"

I giggled. "How did you find me?"

"I've been searching among different packs all across California and heard about this one in Mexico… So I came here…"

"I see…" I said. For some reason I couldn't explain, I didn't believe him. Neither did Savage, obviously, because he hadn't stopped growling since I opened the door. I held him close to my side by the scruff of his neck and tried not to sway on my feet.

"Do you want to lie down?" He asked, getting up and reaching out to me. I felt the sudden urge to let Savage go and let him attack Souta, but ignored the feeling and nodded, curling up on my side, Savage leaning against me, silent now to let me sleep, but I could tell he was still tense.

The last thing I heard before I drifted to sleep was Souta's voice, whispering, "I'm so sorry Kagome."

The next time I awoke, it was to Savage's insistent barking and the smell of burning wood. I sat up in Souta's bed as fast as my exhausted body would allow and dove off the bed, dragging Savage with me by wrapping my arm around his midsection, just as a beam fell from the ceiling onto the bed. Souta was nowhere to be found.

I stood up, wincing as I noticed a huge gash on my calf from just above the ball of my ankle to just below the side of my knee. It was thin, but it felt deep. I limped over to the door, blasted it open and gasped as flames started licking at the doorframe. Turning back to the window, I used the wind, which was just as good as telekinesis, to lift Savage off the floor and out the window. It didn't help matters that I was on the third floor. I watched until Savage was on the ground and then shouted, "Go find Sesshoumaru!" before turning on my heel and heading back through the doorframe, keeping myself levitated above the flames to keep from burning myself. I looked into all the rooms on the third floor in less than five minutes and then went down to the second, then the first, searching for others trapped in their rooms. Luckily, I found none.

However, that also meant that Souta only wanted me dead at the moment. I launched myself, full force, towards one of the first floor walls, called all the iron in my body to my head and shoulders, and broke through the wall to the cool air outside. My victory was short lived, however, as something heavy collided with my shoulder, knocking me out of the air. I landed roughly and slid about thirty feet before rolling to a slow stop. I could hear growling coming from the direction of the projectile that'd hit me and pulled myself slowly to my feet, pain seeming permanently etched on every part of my body; from my throbbing, seemingly broken shoulder, to my bruised and aching stomach, down to my cut and bleeding calf, which seemed to have pulled and opened more than it was before. Blood was pouring from me in rivers, pooling into a small puddle at my feet.

As Souta lunged forward, racing at me in his bear form, I remembered his last words to me, _"I'm sorry…"_

Sesshou had been right all along. Souta was being controlled by the venators, my parents… the hunters. He knew it, but he couldn't do anything about it. He couldn't tell anyone about it because they'd forbid him to do so and as hard as I knew he was fighting them, he couldn't win.

Just before he rammed me back to the ground, I did a round off to the side one handedly, landing lithely on the ball of the foot of my good leg, balancing myself with my other foot. I shoved my conscience to the back of my mind and called forth the fifth element: fire. It came from my hands and shot towards Souta, covering his body from head to toe. He roared in anger and agony before launching himself at me once more.

I rolled to the side, unable to dodge the claw that came at me from the left. Souta's claw raked my body from shoulder to hip, most likely adding to the amount of scars I'd obtained. Ignoring the pain, I stopped my rolling, landing on my knees, arms raised to the sky. As Souta looked on in confusion, I brought my hands down swiftly, emitting a battle cry full of rage, pain, and anger. No words, however, escaped my mouth.

A single strike of lightning fell from the sky, and landed right on my brother's head. A scream so pain filled and angry, yet filled with an underlying note of acceptance, left Souta's throat and filled the sky with its noise. I fell forward on my arms as well as my knees and covered my ears as thoroughly as I could with my hands, tears finally coming to my eyes at what I'd had to do.

As Souta's dying scream quieted, I felt hands on my shoulders. Whirling around, instinctively setting myself up for a fight, I was relieved to see Sesshoumaru's worried face, Savage pacing behind him, tail twitching.

"Gome are you ok?" He asked, touching my face carefully. Then he shook his head, muttering, "No, of course you're not." He then lifted me into his arms and started walking.

"No, put me down." I muttered, struggling in his arms. I didn't care how hurt I was, I was not going to meet the pack looking weak. I knew I had enough adrenaline in my system to get me to wherever the rest of the pack was.

"Stop being difficult." Sess said, trying to keep a hold on me. I straightened my body in his arms and spun away from him, landing in a crouch a couple feet in front of him, a snarl on my face.

"I'm fine." I said. "I refuse to look weak."

He stopped, mid-step, and conceded. "Alright." He said. "Let's get going then. Can you change?" He asked. I nodded, shifting onto my knees and stripping down to nothing, allowing the change to fill me up and shift my form into the wolf I was more comfortable in than my human skin. Standing up as straight as I could in my injured state, I nodded to Sesshoumaru and barked,

_Lead the way._

He shook his head, and trotted north, away from the dorm rooms and camps. I followed at his slow pace for a moment before racing far ahead of him, stopping about two hundred yards away and barking back at him, loudly,

_Is that all you got?_

He grinned at me in a wolfish manner, and followed, sprinting. As soon as he passed me, I followed him, running just a little slower than he was to keep him ahead of me.

About an hour later, we got to a clearing where there was a steep hill which, at first glance, seemed empty, but at Sesshoumaru's bark, the image shimmered and opened up, showing a large cave. Raissia stood at the mouth of the cave, waiting for us. Her face lit up with relief at the sight of us.

"Thank God…" She muttered.

I morphed back looked for Ranee, and as soon as I locked eyes with her, I said, "I think I need medical attention…" before blackness took over and I knew no more, the adrenaline finally wearing off.

A/N:

Review Replies:

Kattana: thanks, I was hoping that'd be the reaction…

Inuyashaz-ghetto-girl: lol. Glad u like it. Hope I keep up w/ ur expectations!!

Purplefav: omg, ur flipping brilliant! I'm using ur title, you deserve a cookie, nd do u want the next chapter early…?


	10. Chapter 10 Choices

Chapter 10 – Choices

I awoke to the sound of running water. My entire body ached, from the crown of my head, to the balls of my feet, and every insignificant crevice in between. Groaning, I shifted a little, trying to find a position that didn't _hurt, _but to no avail. _Everything_ hurt. I opened my eyes a little, trying to find out where I was, and realized that my head was in Sesshou's lap, and he was asleep, leaning back against the cave wall. I sat up slowly, making sure not to wake him, and got unsteadily to my feet.

Sango materialized to my side and I had to stifle a startled yelp that leapt up in my throat.

"Should you be moving around already?" She asked. "You were hurt pretty badly."

Pandora walked up behind her and leaned an arm on her shoulder. "She's right, you know, if you would've been a normal human, you'd be dead. We have accelerated healing." She added at my bewildered expression. "You should go back to sleep."

I shook my head. "I'm restless," I said. "I want to move around. Can I explore the cave, mom?" I asked sarcastically.

Pandora rolled her eyes and Sango said, "If you must…"

I took a few slow, cautious steps to get my bearings before shrugging my shoulders and moving more swiftly towards the back of the cave, where I could hear the running water was coming from. Pandora and Sango flanked me, making sure I was alright to walk. After about half a mile or so, there was an opening in the cave that introduced an underground lake. The lake was huge, it looked more like an underground ocean, and the color was a deep, dark navy blue.

I took a few steps towards the lake when two hands clamped on my upper arms.

"What's the problem?" I asked.

"This lake isn't normal…" Pandora said.

"I can feel the magic that surrounds this place." Sango said.

"So can I." I said, suddenly realizing that I actually _could_ sense something off about the lake. "But I want to see what it is."

The two girls refused to let go of me so, using my elemental capability, I ran a layer of heat that wasn't quite fire yet but was still hot enough to shock them off of me, and took the final few steps until the tips of my toes touched the surface of the water. It was warm. I stripped down to nothing before taking another few steps into the water and stopped when I was waist deep in the surf. The water felt as though it was massaging my sore, tense muscles, and I could no longer feel any of my cuts or bruises. I took a few more steps until I was on my toes in the water, held my breath, and dunked my head under the surface.

A few minutes later, I swam back to the surface and got out of the water. Sango and Pandora gasped and walked over to me, Pandora tracing her finger along my stomach. At first, I thought she was "finding herself" so to speak, but then Sango said, "They're all gone…"

I looked down at myself and even I had to gasp. Every single cut and bruise I'd had were gone, as though they'd had weeks to heal instead of hours; the only one that I could see wasn't completely healed was the slash on my calf, and even that looked as though it wouldn't be there for much longer.

"Check the one on my back," I said, turning around.

"Looks like the one on your leg," Sango commented, tracing the slashes with her fingers gently.

I turned back around, a huge grin on my face, and hurried to put my clothes back on. "Now," I said, pulling my shirt over my head. Bras were nothing but an inconvenience when you had to shift your form three times a day, so the females of our pack didn't bother with them. "We can relocate."

Both girls smiled and we walked back towards the mouth of the cave together. Jason was still sleeping; his head now on his shoulder, and everyone else was being quiet so not to wake him.

I walked over to him and shook his shoulder gently. "Babe?" I whispered as his eyelids fluttered. He looked up at me and his eyes widened.

"How're you moving around so easily?" he asked, sitting up and touching my cheek gently.

"The lake in the back of the cave has healing waters. I'm alright now."

I stood up, pulling Sesshou up by the arm, and went to the front of the cave.

"People!" I called out. They all looked up at me. "We have been run out of our home, once because of what we are and now we've been attacked. We need a new place to go, any ideas?" I asked.

"We could go farther into Mexico…" Souten said. "Acapulco is nice. It's a tourist attraction too, so there's a constant stream of people, all different races and ages, so we'll blend pretty well…"

"Any other ideas?" I asked.

Nobody said anything for a moment, and then Pandora spoke up. "They would never expect us to go back to the States." She said. "The venators. They would expect us to retreat further into Mexico or South America, but the last place they'd expect us to go is back to the United States. We'd blend easier, we know the land, and _we_ can hunt _them_."

"Pandora, I'm not so sure-" Sesshou began, but Pandora interrupted him,

"I'm sick and tired of being hunted!" She screamed. "Those heartless bastards destroyed everything I loved and I'm done running from them!"

"I agree." I muttered. "The fact that the leaders of the Venators would send my little brother to try and destroy us, someone who they assumed I wouldn't fight against, and someone they thought I would fight against you for… they're pulling out all the stops. They're hitting below the belt… I have a hunch on who they'll send next, and it's not a pleasing thought. The closer we can get to them without drawing attention to ourselves, the better. Pandora's right," I said, turning to Sesshou. "We need to fight back."

"No we don't," He replied softly, placing his hands on my shoulders. "We've survived this way for decades, it's all we know."

"So you're saying that all we know how to do is hide like cowards?" I asked, outraged, shrugging his hands roughly from my shoulders. "Well I've got news for you, I'm no coward, and I'm tired of hiding like one." I turned to the pack, "I'll take whoever wants to go back to the states. We're fighting back. However, if you don't want to fight, stay with Sesshoumaru; I won't judge you."

And with that statement, I stood silently, crossing my arms, waiting to see who stood where in this war.

Sango and Pandora came to stand behind me, excitement shining in their eyes. Miroku walked over a few moments later, clapping me on the shoulder as he passed. Shippou followed after a moment of thought, and Souten was right next to him. Rin, who I'd had yet to hear a word from, was next to come to my side. Ranee and Raissia, who were very close friends, looked at each other for a moment before coming to stand in front of me.

"You're going to need us." Raissia said with a smile. I hugged both her and Ranee, who I was definitely going to need, and turned to the rest of the pack with a smile on my face.

Yasha hesitated for a moment before coming to my side and clapping me on the shoulder. "I knew I was going to like you," he said with a grin. "You're definitely a soldier."

Nobody else moved, and I knew that the nine people standing around me were the only ones willing to fight back. Sesshou looked betrayed. I took a few steps until I was standing right in front of him. He kept his eyes averted.

"Sess, look at me." I whispered. He slowly brought his gaze up to meet mine. "I'm not sorry that I'm fighting back." I said strongly, determination burning throughout me. Sesshoumaru turned his head but I gently guided his face back to me, looking deep into his eyes. "But I'm sorry you won't come with us. I'm going to miss you, but I won't hide anymore."

Sess shook his head and started walking away.

"Sesshou don't…"

"No, you _don't,_ Kagome. You're leaving me, taking half of the pack with you, so you can go and die."

My entire demeanor changed. "You think it's better to just sit back and wait for them to find us?" I asked. "They have no heart, like you said. They'll massacre our entire pack using our own people. You'd rather wait for it, hiding in a cave like a coward?" I demanded. "Well I don't. I'd rather die fighting than die hiding and obviously more than half of the pack agrees," I turned away. "I never thought you of all people would turn out to be a coward."

"It's not cowardice, its self preservation." Sess spat.

"How long will your self be preserved until they find you?"

He was silent.

"You don't know, right?" I asked.

Silence once again.

Taking this as a yes, I said, "Me, and the side of the pack who stands behind me, refuse to hide like cowards while our enemies bear down upon us. I refuse to be the hunted once again. This time…" I said, tossing my head back and raising my chin proudly, "…we will be the hunters."

* * *

A/N: Sorry bout the late uptate!

Review Replies

**sess and kags always**: glad you like it!

**Purplefav**: you are brilliant, and I'm glad you're enjoying the story

**Inuyashaz-ghetto-girl**: yeah, I hated doing that to souta, but it had to be done…

**Kattana**: yeah I felt bad for him too. See, Sess led everybody to safety because he, as the alpha, had to make sure his pack was safe. He trusted Kagome to be able to take care of herself so he could take care of everybody else

**Estelin**: thanks, glad you're enjoying it!


	11. Chapter 11 Vision

Chapter 11 – Vision

To say Jason was pissed would be the understatement of the century. He was absolutely livid. I turned to Kikyo and asked, "Who're you with?"

She shook her head. "Nobody."

I looked at her, eyebrow raised in confusion, and Kik sighed. "I have some things I have to take care of on my own; I'll be meeting up with you when I finish up."

I nodded, smiled and hugged her. She grinned sadly back at me before turning to Yash and caressing his cheek. He grabbed her hand softly and I turned away, allowing them to have a private moment together. When I turned back around, I saw Kikyo diving out of the cave, her body just finishing the change.

"Is she coming back?" I asked Inuyasha.

He nodded confidently, "She'll be back for me. I know it."

I nodded too, a smile making its way onto my face. "She'd better be."

***

"I'm hungry," I muttered, crossing my arms and pouting. "When are we eating?"

"Yash will be back in like five minutes." Pandora said, laughing at my childish behavior. "He had to stop and pick up the guy with the IDs and passports and licenses and stuff. In the meantime, we need to figure out how everything's going to work."

"What do you mean?" Samgo asked.

"I mean, who's going to live with who, where're we going, and what're our last names going to be?"

"Well, you and Miroku can live together and take Ranee and Raissia as your twin girls…" Pandora suggested with a twinkle in her eyes that I knew all to well.

So I instigated, "That'll work. It's believable and I trust you two to keep Raissia and Ranee safe."

Sango's face was nearly glowing she was so red, and I thought Miroku's face was going to split in half, he was smiling so much.

"Ok." Sango whispered. I almost didn't hear it.

Then Miroku said, "Back when I was young, my surname was Taijia… if Sango, Raissia, and Ranee don't mind, we could take that name…" he was only looking at Sango.

"That's fine." She said, and neither Ranee nor Raissia argued.

Then Shippou spoke up, "Souten and I could take Rin as our daughter. We could take my old surname, Foxx."

"Any objections to that?" I asked. Nobody spoke up. "Alright. Then that's what'll happen. Yash, Pandora and I can all pose as college students and get an apartment together."

Pandora nodded, agreeing with me.

"The only thing, Pandora," I said. "Is that I think you should go by Michelle. The name Pandora is really out there and I don't want the venators to have any reason to suspect us. We can still call you Pandora," I added at the angry look on her face. "But the name on your birth certificate should be Michelle."

"Fine." She said. I could tell she didn't want to do that, but my reasoning was practical, and she could find no reason to say no.

Just then, the door opened and Inuyasha walked in, McDonald's bags in hand, followed by a short, squat man with a notebook and a clipboard.

I had to bite my tongue in order to not laugh. I don't know what I expected the man to look like, but this was not it.

"Do you need more time?" Yash asked, handing one bag to Miroku and the other to Pandora.

"No." I said, snatching one of the bags from Miroku and taking out the chicken sandwich and fries I'd asked for. "We're ready."

"Alright then." The squat man said, taking a seat in a straight backed chair, crossing his legs and looking at us, waiting for someone to talk.

Shippou started the conversation, telling the man what we'd all agreed on, then Sango spoke up for her and Miroku's "family." Yash chose Takahashi as his last name, and Pandora chose Night. Then it came time for me to choose mine. I'd been debating for the past two days on what last name I was going to use and I finally just chose on a whim.

"Kagome Linda Dream."

"Dream?" the squat, balding man asked at the same time as Yash. I nodded, a dangerous look crossing my face. "Put the name down and stop asking stupid questions."

The man flinched, almost dropping his clipboard, and wrote the name down, his arm noticeably shaking.

As soon as he was done writing, he bowed to me, telling me that the stuff would be ready in a few days, and he'd be back as soon as possible. Then he thanked me for my time and almost ran from the room.

Almost before the door closed behind him, Inuyasha was laughing.

"Jesus Gome I thought that guy was going to shit himself!"

"Well he was pissing me off. Stupid human asshole." I muttered, trying not to laugh at Yash, who was about to fall out of his chair, holding his stomach.

Pandora even cracked a fanged smile. "You can't go around scaring humans Kagome. It's not nice."

"Like I care." I muttered. Then I opened my burger wrapper and started eating, ignoring Yash and Pandora's sighs and giggles.

***

Later on that night, after everyone had went to sleep, Miroku came to me, and his eyes were glowing white. According to what Sango had told me before, this meant he was having a vision.

"What do you see Miro?" I asked, grabbing his shoulders. He put his hands on both sides of my head and pressed his forehead against mine. At once, my mind was assaulted by Miroku's vision.

I was floating above a huge empty field which had been ripped to shreds that could barely be stood upon. On one end of the field was me, my left arm had been slashed to ribbons and should've been unusable, and my right side was torn open. On the other side of the field was my father, he had three deep gashes going from his right shoulder to his left hip, his left foot was placed awkwardly on the ground, and the left side of his face was almost completely torn off.

As I watched, amazed at what I was seeing, the me that was on the field ran at my father, turning into a cheetah and sprinting toward him limping on my left side. Once 'I' was close enough to him, I turned into a lioness, slashing at him again. This time, however, he was ready for me. He lifted his left hand, a knife I hadn't seen before gripped tightly in his fist, and slashed upwards, catching me under my throat and cutting my main artery. The blood flowed freely and I could feel the numbness that spread throughout my other self's body.

However, I would not be outdone, least of all by my father, so as I fell to the ground, back in my human form, clutching at my throat with one hand, I placed the other hand on the ground, palm flat, and used the last of my strength to call forth the earth. A long, sharp spike shot from the ground and impaled my father right through his chest, raising him up off the ground. I could hear him gurgling, even as 'I' collapsed on the ground in a pool of my own blood.

I came back to reality with a gasp. I was sweating like I'd just ran a marathon and my knees could barely hold me up. Miroku, who'd apparently come back around the same time I had, was basically supporting me as I staggered back toward my bed.

"W-w-what the _fuck?_" I managed to get out. Roku covered my mouth with one hand and motioned to the door with the other. I nodded and allowed him to basically carry me outside where we could talk without being overheard or interrupted.

"That's what I was thinking," Miroku said once we were outside, referring to my previous statement. He looked at me with pleading eyes and said, "Please don't go after that man."

"That man is my father. He won't stop looking until he finds me, and I will not be caught off guard." Even as sick and weak as I felt, I would not back down. "And on top of that, he killed my mother. I will not go down until that bastard is dead."

"Even if it costs you your life?" Miroku challenged.

"As long as I take that monster with me, I will gladly forfeit my life."

Roku looked as though he didn't know who I was anymore, but he smiled and asked a question that had yet to cross my mind, "If that was to happen, who would you have be alpha in your place?"

"Sango. And you can quote me on that too if need be. She's more level headed and unbiased than anyone else in the pack."

Miroku nodded. "Let's go back inside. If Sango or Yasha find me out here alone with you, I'm as good as dead."

I nodded and let Miroku lead me back inside the hotel room, a feeling of dread slowly creeping through me.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Writer's block is a bitch.

Review Replies:

Sess and kags always: life is unpredictable… Sess's interests lie in protecting his pack, while Kagome sees the entire race as one pack and seeks to protect them all by going to the sourse…

Cloud nova: thank u!

DX Fan: thanks!

Inuyashaz-ghetto-girl: haha, thank u! It's like I told Sess and Kags Always, their interests differ at the moment

SilverKiwii: I would love a beta… I just don't know any… lol. If you could refer one to me or vice versa that would be great!

Kattana: yea women do rule. The man may wear the pants in the relationship but the woman controls the zipper! ;D and it's not too much a change. Sesshoumaru is more interested in protecting what is his (in this case, his pack) than trying to aid anyone else in their best interests. Kagome, on the other hand, wants to help everyone.

Anonymous who reviewed chapter one: yeah that's what Silverkiwii said. I need a beta but I don't know where to find one… T.T


	12. Chapter 12 Kohaku

Chapter 12 – Kohaku

The entire next morning, I was so uneasy that I sent Inuyasha and Pandora to pick up our identification early in the afternoon just so I knew we'd have it. They were gone for hours and I was frantic; pacing, cleaning, and muttering to myself until finally, Miroku pulled me aside and convinced me to meditate with him until Pandora and Yash returned. It didn't take as long as I assumed it would for me to clear my mind of all thought.

The door to the hotel room busted open and in moments, I was on my feet in attack mode. When my mind registered what I was seeing, I nearly collapsed. Inuyasha was half-standing in the doorway, Pandora's limp body in his arms. Both were bruised and bloody. As they collapsed in the doorway, I heard a coyote howl.

A growl erupted from my chest and I fought the urge to change right then and there. Everyone was looking at me, waiting for my orders, and I couldn't show them how close I was to losing control of myself.

"Souten, can you handle it?" I growled out, my voice barely human, fists clenching and unclenching. She nodded, beckoning to Ranee and the two began tending to Yasha and Pandora. I watched them work for a moment before walking over to the still open door, taking off the knee length t-shirt I was wearing, and turning.

When muscle and bone settled within me, I tossed my head back and howled before taking off into the night, following the scent of the coyote shape shifter.

I ran nonstop until I noticed that I'd passed the same building about four times. 'That crafty, mangy, son-of-a-dog led me in circles!' I thought angrily.

I growled, huffed, and ran back to the hotel room, pawing at the door once I got there. It opened almost immediately and I walked inside. Before returning to my humanoid form, I crawled into my t-shirt, pushing my paws, neck, and head into the appropriate holes.

"So what happened?" I asked the, now awake, Yasha and Pandora.

"Well we got the stuff," Pandora said evasively, tossing a tan back to me.

"That's good…" I left the sentence hanging, waiting for one of them to speak up. After a moment, Inuyasha obliged,

"It was Kohaku, Gome. Right after Pandora picked that up, we found the man who made it all dead in a closet. It was a nasty sight Gome, I almost couldn't stomach it… Pandora couldn't…" At an evil glare from said woman, Yasha quickly changed the subject, "Anyways, when we turned around Kohaku was standing there with blood all over him, grinning at us like the Cheshire Cat."

"He attacked like a ninja Kagome, all shadows and speed. I think the only reason we got away is because he wanted to send a message."

"Well," I said, "We got the message loud and clear."

"What was the message?" Miroku asked challengingly, he obviously hadn't got it.

"My father is moving against me again. And this time, he's serious."

Kohaku is my little cousin. Him and Souta were like brothers all throughout their lives, it seemed appropriate that my father would send Kohaku next.

The next day, I sent Ranee, Rin, Inuyasha, Miroku, and Pandora on to the States ahead of us and started planning out a way to catch Kohaku.

Shippou suggested that I offer myself up as bait, since I'm obviously what Kohaku is after, and have Sango trap him in a barrier.

Souten said that was a good plan, but suggested that instead of having me as bait, have Raissia create an illusion of me and use that as bait.

Raissia suggested that I lead Kohaku her way and she'll get into his head with an illusion only he can see and inanimate him long enough for us to capture him.

I told them they were all crazy and that I had to do this on my own.

"The only reason I kept all of you here was because after I do find him, I'm going to need some serious medical attention. I was bad off last time; this time's going to be worse."

"You're crazy if you think we're going to let you do this alone Kagome," Sango said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Which, to her, it probably was.

"I'm not going to put you all at risk for something so stupid. I have to deal with this, not you guys."

"Why the hell did you even bring us all the way over here if we're not going to do anything but watch you get yourself killed?" Sango yelled, standing in her rage, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. Her blue eyes blazed with fury.

"When it comes to fighting the ventaors, I'll gladly let you guys help me… but this is personal… this is my _cousin_."

"Well what're we supposed to do if you can't take him out?" Sango demanded.

"I will, don't worry about that."

"But what if you _can't_."

"Then you take over and do as you see fit."

I could tell Sango was taken back because she didn't argue.

"Alright," she said, shaking her head. "I won't argue with you anymore."

"Thank you."

"So what's the plan?" Shippou asked, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

"Tomorrow I'm going to head out, and just wander until I find someplace where nobody will get hurt. Then I'll just wait there. He'll come for me."

"Yeah, he will…" Raissia said. "But how long will it take for that to happen?"

"She has a point," Souten added. "If you plan to just sit there and wait for Kohaku to attack, he might let you sit there until you're exhausted and then attack when you're weak."

"Nah…" I muttered. "Haku's never been patient enough for something like that. And I doubt he's even got a plan right now. He's probably just waiting for me to go looking for him so he can evade me. After hours of that, he'd probably attack, but I'm not going to give him the satisfaction of falling into his trap."

Everyone nodded in understanding.

"Where do you want us to wait?" Sango asked.

"Find an abandoned building at the edge of the city and wait at the bottom floor for me." I turned to the door, a bag of chips and a huge water bottle in my hands, but stopped halfway out, "And check out of the motel. We don't need any unnecessary bills draining money from our account."

Sango laughed, a bitter, mirthless sound and said, "That should be the last of your worries. But I'll make sure it's taken care of."

I smiled at her, muttered, "Thanks," before heading out.

A/N:

RainLily13: thank you! These are the kind of reviews I thrive on. And as for Souta's death not affecting Kag, it has, but she's suppressing the bad feelings to try and lead her pack well. I actually think that fighting the venators is something Kag would do because they're hurting people, while Sessh would try to keep what's his safe. I know they're OOC, but I'm not very good at writing Sess in character. Lol. Thanks again for your lovely review, I look forward to hearing from u in the future.

sesshyluver6518: glad u like it, thanks!

InDarknessDeath: thanks!

CutieSOS: thank u!!

ArtemisPhoenix33: thank you!! And I'm actually thinking about Miroku having that talk with her so I can enlighten people on her opinion of the matter.

elfy rd: thanks, glad you like it! And actually, the story is based on one I'm writing myself. :D I need a beta, badly, if you know anyone who'd be interested, that'd be awesome!

Kattana: the last name represents what her life has become, although sometimes it can seem like a nightmare, that's still a type of dream. And the vision will be explained in better detail later, because Miroku sees the future, but it's through his eyes, so he witnessed the battle, but could do nothing about it.


	13. Chapter 13 Retreat

Chapter 13 – Retreat

Three days I waited. Three days I sat, stood, paced, and brooded, waiting for Kohaku to show up. He didn't. It wasn't until day three, when Sango was coming to bring me my daily meal that he struck. I could see San in the distance. She was in her animal form, carrying a basket in her jaws. Then, from the corner of my eye, I noticed a dust cloud coming toward me from the west. Cursing, I peeled off my sweaty shirt and started running towards the dust cloud that most likely contained my younger cousin. After a couple of long strides, I brought my feet together and dove toward the sand, allowing my body to change. I wanted, no, _needed,_ to get to him as fast as possible.

However, instead of the familiar limbs of my wolf form, I felt myself turning into something else as my pants slid off. Something that was capable of a lot more speed than my wolf form. Putting my wondering thoughts aside, I sped up and raced towards the dust cloud, coming closer every step. Soon, I could see him, Kohaku, at the front of the cloud, racing towards me in his animal form just as I was him. He was a cheetah. It was fitting in my opinion, the fastest cheetah in the world. When he got close, I dove at him, forcing aside my emotions to do what I knew I had to. But Haku was too smart for a simple trick like that. He lept over me, and I landed on my front paws, swinging my body around to face him. In the time it took for me to stop moving, Kohaku had already shifted back to his human form and was looking at me strangely.

"I'd gotten wind that you were a wolf Gome. Not a cheetah."

_A cheetah…? Is that what I turned into?_

I felt my tail flick back and forth as I brooded. Deciding that I wanted to talk to my brother, I shifted back to my human form.

"Why are you doing this Kohaku?" I asked. "Do Mom and Dad really have that much power over you?" There was pain in my voice.

"Don't you mean the venators?" He asked. "I can't believe you still call them mom and dad." Haku said sneering.

"Why don't you have some respect, and answer my question?" I hissed.

:His face turned serious.

"Yeah, they've got power like this over all of us. The only one with any chance of overthrowing dad at all is…" he trailed off.

"Who?" I demanded. "Who is it?"

My brother was there for a moment longer. Long enough for him to say, "You," before his eyes hardened and he became my father's lackey once more.

The feral grin returned to Kohaku's face and he crouched low, a growl tearing from his chest.

"M-me?" I questioned out loud. I forced myself from my stupor in order to take Haku on, face to face, hand to hand. He moved first, his speed giving him the advantage. I was forced into an all defensive battle, looking for an opining in his defenses. Finally, after blocking and taking hits for a while, I spotted one. Kohaku, in all his overconfidence and cockiness, left his right side exposed, swinging a punch at my face. Spinning on the ball of my left foot to avoid his punch, I lifted my right foot and swung it as hard as I could, connecting with Kohaku's exposed side. I heard a few popping and cracking sounds as Haku flew away from me, clutching his ribs.

By the time I was able to bring my momentum to a stop and get back into a fighting stance, Kohaku was gone. Where he'd landed, or where I'd assumed he'd landed anyways, there was a huge message engraved in the sand. It was so messy I could barely read it. After I had, I wished I couldn't… the message read, "Kill me."

By that time, Sango had arrived, panting. She had my clothes in her mouth. I thanked her and dressed before following her to the place the rest of the guys had decided to wait. It was the basement of a long abandoned building. It was large, spacious, and most importantly, empty. There was a window in the corner of the room that served as the only light in the room.

"So what the hell happened?' Sango asked as she changed, pulling a sapphire blue sundress over her head.

"I'm the only one who can save us…" I replied, looking into the face of those of my pack who stayed; the faces that make up my family. "And I have to murder my cousin to do it."

A/N: Sorry about the delay. Senior year. Blaah.

Review replies:

Jennaha11: hope you enjoyed the chap

darkangel0212: I will thanks!

Kattana: indeed. And the end is nowhere in sight.

Pcebabe: sess may not be present, physically, for quite a while. But I wont leave him out of the story completely.

the random one: I will!!


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